Baling-press



2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

(No Model.)

G. ERT'EL.

BALING PRESS.

2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

(No Model.)

G. ERTBL.

BALING PRESS.

6. w 1|. ml 001 W. V 2 N l I t p e S d Dv LII. n W DV .fu nw P BY ATTORNEY Pains. Pncwumugmpher. wmmgm D c NITED STATES PATENT EETCE.

GEORGE ERTEL, OF QUINCY, ILLINOIS.

BALING-PRESS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 349,934, dated September 28, 1886.

Application filed April 7, 1886. Serial No. 198,071.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, GEORGE ERTEL, of Quincy, in the county of Adams and State of Illinois, have invented a new and Improved Ealing-Press, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to presses adapted for baling hay, straw, and other material, and has for its object to provide a press which may be fed either at the top or at one side, and may be operated when fed from the top without closing the top feed-door, and so arranged that whether the top or side door be closed prior to pressing each successive increment of material fed into the press-case either of said doors may be opened automatically by the movement of the plunger.

The invention has for a further object to provide for a more effective retaining of the pressed batches or charges of material when the plunger recedes from them.

rI lhe invention consists in certain novel features of construction and combinations of parts of the baling-press, all as hereinafter fully described and claimed.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming apart of this specification, in which similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure l is a side elevation of myiinproved baling-press with the press-case, plunger, and other parts broken away and in section, and with the top feed-door open. Fig. 2 isa plan view of the press with parts broken away and in section, and showing the side feed-door open. Fig. 3 is an enlarged view, in longitudinal sectional elevation, ofparts ofthe press next the top feed-door, which is closed, and the devices for automatically opening this door by the movement of the plunger, and also of the devices for preventing rebound of the plunger. Fig. 4 is a detail broken plan View of part of the press-ease and the plunger. Fig. 5 is a rear end View of the -press-case with part of the truck on which the case is mounted; and Fig. 6 is aview of the back end y of the plunger, drawn to the same scale as in Figs. l and 2.

The press-case A is provided with a top feed-door, B, and a side feed-door, C, hinged at b c, respectively, to the top and side of the case.

(No model.)

The plunger D of the press is connected by a beam, d, yoke d, head d2, and chain di to the sweep dt, allowing a complete forward stroke and return of the plunger for each half-turn of the sweep in reverse directions. anism for operating the sweep is fully described in a United States patent, No. 336,305, granted to me February 16, 1886, and therefore needs no further description here.

Any suitable mechanism may be used to operate the plunger in the press-case.

The usual apron or guard, C', is fixed to the side of the press-case, and over or past which material to be baled is fed into the case.

In and through the floor of the press-case, and preferably at or near the point at which the plunger D stops on its forward stroke, I make a slot, E, by dividing the longitudinallyranging bottom planking or lining of the presscase; or, in other words, the bottom planking, instead of being continuous from end to end of the press-case, is made in two sections placed some distance apart to form the slot E, and so that the dust or dirtin thcloose hay or other balable material being fed into the presscase either at the top or side door will fall through the slot, and the forward edge or margin of the slot will scrape the dust and dirt from the under side of the material while in process of formation into a bale, and whereby the dust and dirt will not be carried forward and pressed into the bale, thus insuring cleaner bales. The slot E is, by preference, formed obliquely across the bottom of the press-case, the more effectually to guard against the forcing of the material being baled through it along with the dust and dirt. Itis 0bvious that the slot E is a Very much more simple contrivance allowing discharge of the dust and dirt from the press-case than is a series of rollersjournaled transversely across the casein an opening of its bottom, as has heretofore been done; but these rollers are liable to clogging by the dirt, and are costly to apply and keep in running order. Furthermore, the rollers cannot have the scraping effect on the bottom of the material being baled to clear it of dirt, as does the forward edge of the slot E, as above described.

The forward end of the press-case is open for continuous discharge of the bales after they are tied at the open sides c of the case in rear ICO a v i 349,94

of where the bales are formed between grooved spacing-blocks of any approved kind, which l through the sidetimbers,havenutsa2ct2allow ing the top and bottom walls, A3 A2, of the press-case to be drawn toward each other to contract the open end of the press-case and' offer resistance to the passage of the bales to control the density of the bales to any desired degree. (See Figs. l, 2, and 5.)

To the free end of the top door, B, ,there is fixed a case, b, in which is fitted to slide ak To a bracket or arm,` B', xed to the doory B, is attached one end of a rod, B2, the other end of which is connected to a rod, G,` which passes through a metal tube, G', `fixed to the presscase,and preferably to a iiooring or platform, a', on the case. The rod G has a iixed collar, g, between which and the end'of the tube G is placed around the rod and in the tube a spiral spring, H, which tends normally to expand and raise or open the door B when it is unlatched automatically by the back movement of the plunger, as next described.

' A chain, I, connected at one end to the latchbolt F, extends along the press-case over the platform a', which supports the chain, and the other end of the chain is attached to the upper end of a lever, l', which is pivoted on a cross-rod,', held to the case A, and to thelower end of lever l is connected one end of a rod, J, which extends rearward at the insideof the press-case over the plunger-operating mechanism and passes loosely through a hole in the upturned flange k of a plate, K, xed to the top of the plunger near its back end. The end of the rod J is screw-threaded to receive a stop-nut, j, which may be set on the rod to cause the contact of Vthe ange 7c with the nut about at the time the plunger reaches the limit of its inward stroke, to cause the rod J to draw on lever I, and through it on the chain I, to draw the bolt F and allow the spring H to draw the door B open, as in Fig. l, to permit the next charge of material to be' fed through the top doorway in front of the plunger when the latter is moved outward or backward in the press-case to the position shown in Figs. 2 and 3 of the drawings.

When the press is not in use, or when the side door, C, is to be operated for feeding the press at the side, as on a windy day, and when the top door, B, will be closed, the rods B2'G will be disconnected, to allow the spring H to freely expand,and thereby retain its elasticity.

When the press is to be fed at the side, a

short chain, c, will be hooked at one end into a staple or eyebolt, c', fixed to the plunger D,

and the other end of this chain c will be attached to one .arm of an elbow-lever, L, pivoted to the press frame .or case. A chain, c2, connects the other arm of lever L with the stem of a forked bolt, M, on the door O, and whereby when the plunger moves outward the .door CA will be opened automatically to allow the next charge of material to be'fed into the presscase in front of the plunger.

It is evident that either a top or side feed may be given the press at the will of the operator, and that `wheth er the top or side door be used it will be opened automatically by the movement of the plunger; but both doors will be closed by hand, except when it may be desired to feed the press from the top and press the baleswithout closing the top door, as may be desirable at times-in baling straw, for instance, when the smoothness of the bales is not of great importance, and as willbe hereinafter explained.

yIn presses of thischaracter, or wherein the plunger is forced outward more or less violently by the expansion of the charge of material last pressed when the outer end of the plunger-beam passes the center, an effective brake device to prevent rebound of the plunger and shock to the plungenoperating mechanism and press-case is desirable. I construct such a brake device as follows: A brake-lever, N, is hung in an openingat the top of the presscase by means of aheaded bolt, n, which passes freely through a crbss-timber, O, which is bolted at o o to the top of the case. A spring'` n', placed between the head of bolt n and the Vtop of the brake-lever, draws the lever up toward the timber lO, but allows the lever to be forced downward by Vimpact against it, or against a metal plate, n2,`on it, of the end of a screw-shaft, P,which is threaded into a nut, p', embedded in the cross-timber a3 of the press-frame, and has a bent upper end, p, by which it may be turned up or down to adjust the brake-lever bodily in horizontal plane, ,for purposes presently explained. To the under side of the 'outer end of the brake-lever N there is iixed an inclined block, N', which is adapted to be struck by an inclined block, D', on the top. of the plunger D, and to the under side of theV opposite end of the lever N there is fixed a metal plate or shoe, N2, which is adapted to press upon a metal plate, D2, fixed to the top of the plunger. A cleat or block, ai', 'xed to the presscase over the end of the lever N, prevents an undue drawing up of that end of the lever by the spring n. It thus will appear that the brake-lever N is yieldingly supported in thev press-case, and that by screwing the shaft P downward the inclined block N will be lowered, so that the corresponding block, D', on the plunger will strike it just about the time the back or outer end of the plunger strikes the rubber buffers It, xed to cross-bars of the preSsframe,

This contact of IOC) the brake-lever Nto be suddenly thrown downward on the end of the screw-shaft P as a fulcrum, and whereby the plate Nl on the lever is carried forcibly against the plate D2 on the plunger, and the brake-lever will simultaneously adj ust itself with about equal pressures on the block and -plate D D2 of the plunger, and prevent .a rebounding forward movement of the plunger until the plunger-beam d is again moved to give the neXt outward stroke to the plunger, and the instant the inclined block D is carried from under the brake-lever block N the lever will release its hold on the plunger. It is evident that by adjusting the screw-shaft P the brake-lever N may be set accurately to clamp the plunger when the press is tirst made, and also may be adjusted as the plunger and press-case wear by use.

Consequently the plunger may at all times be stopped bythe brake-lever acting with any amount of force which the operator may in practice find most preferable to give the best results in preventing rebound of t-he plunger and shocks to the press.

Across the rear end of the top feed-open ing of the press there is pivoted on a suitable pinor bolt, S, a metal casting, T, which I call a "retainer, and which extends across the full width of the press-case opening or box in which the plunger D works. (See Figs. l, 3, and 4.) This retainer is provided with a heavy lip or ange, t, which extends the full length of the retainer, and by its weight causes the retainer to normally turn on the pivot S to the position shown in full lines in Fig. 3, without the aid of springs, and until a lip or stop-lugs, t', on the retainer strike a projecting lip or flange, a4, on the press-case A, at which time the rear side or face of the retainer-lip t stands about vertically. The press-case just beneath the stop-flange a4 is cut away, as at a5, to allow the lip t ofthe retainer T to turn up into said recess, as in full lines in Fig. l, and in dotted lines in Fig. 3, as the plunger moves toward the limit of its outward stroke, and the top of the plunger at its pressing -end is cut away, as at U, to allow someof the hay, straw,or other material being baled to pass between the turned-up retainerlip t and the top of the plunger, as the latter approaches and reaches the limit of its outward stroke.

The operation of the retainer T, in connection with the plunger, is as follows: Should the door B be closed down on the charge of material fed at the top of the press-case in front of the plunger, as the plunger advances to press the material the lip tof the retainer T will be turned upward nearly to horizontal position,and a reasonable amount of the material may without over-strain or excessive friction of the parts be carried into the recess U of the plunger beneath the upturned lip t of the retainer, and as the plunger moves outward again and the material expands when released from the heavy pressure of the plunger the extremity of the lip twill be caught by the expanding material, and will be turned down thereby as the retainer turns bodily on its pivot S, until the stop tstrikes the press-case lip at, whereupon further expansion ofthepressed material at the top of the press-case will be checked,and the retainerT thus will coact with theordinaryspring-pressed retaininghookaV, iitted, preferably,three at each side ofthe presscase, in holding the pressed material until the next charge shall have been fed into the case and pressed by the plunger. The retainer T will act in the same way to prevent undue eX- pansion of the pressed material at the top of the press-case, whether the press be fed at the top opening, as above described, or at the side opening; but the most important office of the retainer, and particularly in connection with the plunger recessed at U, as above described, is to allow the press to be operated when fed at the top without closing the top door, B. upon each successive increment of material fed into the press case, and which mode of operating the press may at times be preferred when baling straw or other' material, and-when the smoothness of the bales at the upper side is not of prime importance, and when operating the press in this way it is obvious that the lip t of the retainer T will yield or turn up as the end of the plunger moves beneath it, and as the end ofthe plunger moves but a short distance past the retainer T the material being pressed would not bind excessively hard between the retainer and the plunger, even if the plunger were not recessed at U; but by so recessing the plunger all danger of excessive binding and friction of the material is avoided.

By constructing the balingpress in the mauner above described, allowing the press to be fed either at the top orside, and by providing for interchangeable connection of thelatch de vices to the plunger for opening either the top or side doorautomatically by the movement of the plunger, and also by providing the retainer T in the press case, I produce a press having a very wide range of usefulness, both as regards the material to be baled and the preferredv manner of operating the press in baling it.

Having thus fully described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent- 1. A baling-press comprising a case, a plunger operating therein, top and side feed-doors provided with latch devices, and connections from said latch devices adapted for alternate attachment to the plunger, substantially as shown and described, whereby either the top or side feed-door may be unlatched for opening by the movement of the plunger, as set forth.

2. A baling-press havingits bottom planking or lining madein two sections spaced apart to provide a dust-exit slot, as at E, at the bottom of the feed-opening of the press-case, substantially as described, for the purposes set forth.

TOO

8. In a baling-press, the combination, With the press-case and a top feed-door, as'at'B, hinged thereto, of a'tube, G', Xed'to the case, a spring, as at H, fitted in the tube, and connections from the back end of the spring to the door, substantially as shown and described,

whereby the spring Will be put in tension by' the closing of the door, and will automatically open the door when said door is unlatched, as set forth.

4. In a baling-press, the combination, with the press-case having a top feed-opening and` a door, B, hinged thereat, of rods B2 G, atube,` G', into which rod G passes, and a spring, as at H., fitted in the tube between oneend of it and a shoulder on the rod G, substantially as herein set forth.

5. In a baling press, the combination, with the press-case having a top feed-opening, a door, B, hinged thereat, a latch, as at F, on the door, adapted to engage a catch-plate on the press-case, anda plunger Working in the case, ofa chain, I, lever I', and arod, J, con nected to the lever I' and to the plunger, substantially as shown and described.

6. In a baling-press, the combination, with the` presscase having a top feedopening,'a door, B,.hinged thereat, a latch, as at F, on the door, adapted to engage a plate on the presscase, and a plunger working in the case, ofav chain, I, lever I', rod J, a plate, as at K, on the plunger, and astop or nut, j, on .the rod J,

substantially as described, vfor the purpose setv forth.

7. In a baling-press, the combination, with the press-case and a plunger operating therein, of a brake-lever, as at N, hung solas to be u adjustable vertically at `the top of the presscase, and adapted toclamp the plunger automatieally about at the limit of the back-stroke of the plunger, anda vertically-niovablefulcrum pin or shaft, vas at P, itted'in the press- -case and bearing on the brake-lever and adapted to adjust it' bodily to the plunger, substantially as described, for the purpose set forth. y

8. In a baling-press, the combination, with the presscase and a plungeroperating there'- in, of a brake-lever, N, hung at the top oi the press-case by a pin or bolt, n, and a spring-fn',-

and adapted to clamp the plunger automatic ally about at the limit of the back-stroke of:

the plunger, and avertically-movable fulcrum i. pin or shaft, as at P, fitted in the press-case` and bearing on the lever and'adapted-'to ad just it bodily to the plunger, substantially as i herein. set forth.

`9. In a baling-press, the combination, with* the press-case and a plunger -operating therein, of a brake-lever, N, held to the case and' provided with an inclined c1an1p-block,-`N",

and a correspondingly-inclinedblock, Di, on`

the plunger, substantially as herein set*forth.-

10. In a baling-press, the cou1bination,witliv the press-case and a plungeroperatingtherel in, of a brake-lever,-N, hung at'the top of the case by a pin or bolt, n, and a spring,n",`a-

vertically-movable fulcruni pin or shaft, asiat*v P, fttedvin the press-case and 'bearing Vonth'e-A lever and adapted to adjust it bodilyto they plunger, and `inclined blocks N' D' on the brake-f` lever and plunger, respectively, substantiallyfasfherein set forth.

11. In a baling-press, Vthe combinati'on,vvith'v7 the press-case and a plunger operating therein, of a brake-lever, N, hungat the top of the l case and provided Withinclined and-flat clarnp plates N' N, a vertically-movable 'iulcrum' pin or shaft, as at P, iitted in the press-casel and bearing on the-lever, and incli-nedand flat `clamp-plates D' D", xed to the plunger,lv substantially asA hereinset forth.

412. In a baling-press, the combination,With` the press-case and a plunger operating* there-4 in, of a retainer, T, formed with a pendent lip, t, and stop t', and pivoted,` as at S, `at thelrear end of a top feedopeni'ng of the 'press substantial] y as herein set forth;

' GEORGE ERTELL Witnesses: f l

RICHARD J ANsEN, JOHN WILLI-AM BROWN;`

lcasa-and said case'V cut away at 'a5 to receive `the lip t, and having a stop'iiiange -or lip,"0t',` which the retainer-stopt is'adapted to'strike, 

